


you do it for her (that is to say you do it for him)

by everybodyknowseverybodydies



Category: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, ワンパンマン | One-Punch Man
Genre: F/F, Genos attempts a gay pep talk, M/M, Mako is not sure if it's meant for her or himself
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-18
Updated: 2016-09-18
Packaged: 2018-08-15 18:53:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,930
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8068819
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/everybodyknowseverybodydies/pseuds/everybodyknowseverybodydies
Summary: Something goes wrong on a trip back from Crystal Tokyo, and Sailors Jupiter and Mercury end up... well, they're not really sure where it is. The bald guy and the cyborg seem pretty helpful though...





	1. in over your head

**Author's Note:**

  * For [knightlysoulsnatcher](https://archiveofourown.org/users/knightlysoulsnatcher/gifts).



> Originally written a couple months ago for Knight's birthday; the premise was basically "THESE CRAZY KIDS SOMEHOW MEET AND EVERYONE IS GAY."

Somehow, they had gotten separated from everyone else. The senshi had been visiting Chibiusa in Crystal Tokyo because, Minako had insisted, Chibiusa came to visit _them_ all the time and it wasn’t fair to make her always be the one to travel back and forth between the future and the past, and besides, what could _possibly_ go wrong? What had gone wrong was that on the way back, something had happened. Something that landed them without the other three in the middle of collapsed buildings and surrounded by monsters, gasping for breath after falling out of the sky to the concrete below. Normally, getting separated wouldn’t be much of a problem, because of their communicators and the fact that the others were always nearby, and normally, Makoto would be perfectly happy to spend some time alone with Ami (which was neither here nor there).

This was not ‘normally.’

“Hey – hnngh – are you almost done?” Mako yelled over her shoulder, ducking an… _appendage_ from the creature flailing wildly in front of her. She still couldn’t figure out if it even had arms or legs or if it was just a mass of noodle-y bits.

Behind her, Ami sidestepped another of the creature’s flailing bits with frustrating grace and backed up. “Very nearly! I don’t believe there’s anything new to learn from it; it doesn’t appear to have any specific signature typical of youma to indicate its origins –”

“Ami!” Mako stomped hard on an appendage that got too close and grabbed another out of the air to twist in a way that she hoped was painful. It was hard to tell; the monster didn’t make any sounds, just kept flailing. “Can I Supreme Thunder this thing or not?”

“Ah – yes, yes, go ahead! Do you need me to –?”

“No no no just stay back I’ve got it!” She threw a punch at the creature for good measure before checking to make sure Ami was out of range. “ _Jupiter Supreme_ –”

_BOOM_.

…now the noodle-y bits were falling in chunks of flesh out of the sky, and she hadn’t even gotten to electrocute anything. Swearing under her breath, she dove for Ami, who was staring at something past Mako in confusion, hooked one arm around her waist, and yanked her under a half-deteriorated awning. “Did your scanner not say it was going to explode? Ami?” Receiving no response, she set the smaller girl down and tried to check that she hadn’t gotten hurt, blood-smeared fingers gingerly running through soft blue hair. “Ami! What is it?”

“Extraordinary,” Ami mumbled, still not paying attention to her. Miffed, Mako turned around finally.

A bald man in a cape and a yellow suit was dusting his hands off and blinking almost sleepily at the sky. Beside him stood a cyborg who was not looking at the sky, but rather at the bald man, and actually didn’t seem very interested in the pieces of monster raining down from above at all.

Mako elbowed Ami carefully. “What’re you picking up?”

“What? Oh –” Ami’s eyes flicked to the side, scanning something on the screen of her visor. She shook her head after a moment and switched it off, the visor disappearing as she lifted her eyebrows curiously. “Nothing. He’s… just human. Although I’m not sure what kind of human could accomplish such a spectacular display of strength unaided by any – Mako! What are you doing? Wait!”

Ami’s frantically hissed warnings came too late. “What the hell was that?” Mako demanded, stomping over to the bald man with a glare Rei would have been proud of. “Just who do you think you are? You’re lucky Ami was done collecting data so we didn’t lose anything!”

The bald man turned to her, seeming surprised. “Eh? Someone else was here?”

Makoto gritted her teeth. “Yeah, you – you –”

“Do not continue if you wish to live!” the cyborg interrupted her in a clipped tone, eyes narrowing. “Sensei is a great and powerful hero! He will not tolerate insults!”

“We’re very sorry,” came a softer voice from behind Mako. Ami grabbed her wrist, trying to pull her away and only succeeding in skidding a little, boots scrabbling at the ground uselessly. Mako huffed and lifted her arm over her head. Ami’s yelp of surprise as she was lifted inches off the ground quickly turned into an adorably squeaky “ _Mako!_ ”

“He didn’t even notice we were here!” she protested. The silent look of disappointment she received in response withered her resolve faster than she was willing to admit.

“In fairness, we didn’t notice they were here either until he took out the creature.”

After a moment’s contemplation, Mako lowered her arm again with a scowl. “…okay you’re right.”

Flushing slightly, Ami cleared her throat and dusted off the skirt of her fuku. “As I was saying, we’re very sorry. Please don’t take any offense; it’s been something of a long day, and Sailor Jupiter is a little frustrated. She didn’t mean you any insult.”

Makoto refrained from grumbling _did too_ under her breath.

The cyborg didn’t seem satisfied, but the bald man smiled. “Oh, ah, it’s alright. Are you new heroes? You can meet your quota in the less dangerous parts, you know?”

With a snort, Mako crossed her arms. “New? Do we look new? Where have you been?”

Ami wet her lips nervously and tapped Mako’s shoulder. “Y…es. About that. The data’s just finished analyzing.”

“Where were you when the Dark Kingdom was trying to take over? Where were you when the Black Moon showed up? Did you sleep through the –”

“ _Makoto!_ ” Ami hissed through her teeth.

“What?”

She nodded towards the cyborg, whose eyes were narrowed even further in silent anger. Mako huffed but snapped her mouth shut as Ami turned to the two men with a small, somewhat embarrassed smile. “I’m sorry. Is it alright if we start over? I’m Sailor Mercury, and this is Sailor Jupiter.” She held out a small gloved hand.

The bald man smiled and wiped his own hand off apologetically on his yellow suit before shaking Ami’s. “Saitama. This is Genos. When did you join the Heroes Association?”

“Heroes Association?”

The cyborg – Genos – flared up indignantly. “You do not know what the Heroes Association is? You are not even real heroes and you dare try to steal credit from Sensei?” He glowered at them. Mostly at Mako. She scowled back at him. “Saitama-sensei has had enough credit stolen from him by heroes who should not call themselves such! Now he must face attempts at the same from you, who are not even heroes in name? An outrage! I will not allow it!”

“Hey!”

“Genos.” Saitama shook his head. “It isn’t a big deal. Let them explain. Ehh… I’m sure it’s not like it seems.”

Ami nodded earnestly. “Oh, no, no, it isn’t! You see, what I’ve been trying to say is that I think we may be… well, temporally displaced.”

“We’re _what_ ,” Mako demanded at the same time that Saitama asked, “What do you mean?”

Genos blinked, gold eyes widening. “Sensei! Is this another power of yours, in addition to your great strength and stamina?”

Shrugging, Saitama looked curiously at Ami, whose fingers were flying over the Mercury computer. “Ah. Is it my fault?”

“No, not as far as I can tell,” Ami shook her head.

Mako huffed. “Whose fault is it then?”

“It’s no one’s fault!” Ami’s voice lifted higher with insistence. “But that does explain why our communicators aren’t working – it’s because there’s nothing for them to communicate with besides each other. I think whatever happened in time-space, whatever split us up from the others… I think it threw us forward instead of backward.”

For a moment, the other three were completely silent, trying to take in what this meant. Ami bit her lip and looked down, and Mako had to bite back the impulse to try to wipe the uncertainty from her face. How would she even fix this? _Don’t worry, I’m sure you’re right, we probably did get drop-kicked through space-time into a completely unknown time and place_ – yeah, no, that wouldn’t make Ami feel any better.

“So where are we?” Mako asked finally. “And how do we get back?”

Ami seemed at a loss, which was altogether much more worrying than the thought of being thrown out of time-space by a mysterious entity. Ami always knew, always had a plan.

“You’re in Z City,” Saitama said. He smiled and lifted his shoulders, almost sheepish. “Not the good part. Sorry.”

“Sensei! It is a good part!” Genos turned to Makoto and Ami, informing them with intense gravity, “This is where Saitama-sensei and I live.”

“This is where you live?” Mako looked around at the collapsing buildings. A dust cloud was _literally_ rising from part of a wall that had just fallen, right then, as Genos was talking. “Uh…”

Saitama shrugged and scratched his head. “Yeah, it is.”

Chewing on her lower lip, Ami craned her neck and stood on her toes, brow knit as she searched for something in the distance. Mako tried very hard not to notice the soft line of her jaw, or the line of the lean muscles in her neck meeting her collarbones, because this was a really inappropriate time, like a really, really inappropriate time – she tore her gaze away after a moment and locked eyes with an amused-looking Saitama. Mako reddened and avoided his eyes, only to be met with a disturbing look of fascination on the cyborg’s face.

Heat flooded her face. She made a vaguely irritated sound and resisted the urge to kick something (like herself). “So – uh – what exactly are you looking for, Mercury?”

“The… skyline,” Ami murmured absently. “I don’t recognize any of these buildings. And I’ve studied some of the geography available in the Crystal Palace; I think… we might be in a time beyond even the era of Crystal Tokyo.”

“Crystal Tokyo?” Saitama echoed curiously.

Mako felt her mouth go dry. “You mean this is even past the 30th century?”

“Well past it, from what I’ve gathered so far.”

Genos interrupted with an impatient, “Listen! My sensei has asked you a question! Answer him immediately and without hesitation or condescension!”

Ami jumped. “Oh – ah – sorry, what –?”

“Saitama-sensei will not be disrespected in this way!” he barked.

“Hey!” Mako scowled, wrapping an arm protectively around Ami’s shoulders and pulling her closer. “Leave her alone, she’s trying, alright?”

Looking at something beside his boot, Saitama said calmly, “Genos. A true hero is not, eh, overbearing?” The cyborg whipped out a notebook and began scribbling things down rapidly. “They’re kids, also, don’t scare them.”

“Who’re you calling a kid?” Mako blustered, but Ami shook her head and put a hand over Mako’s, which silenced her embarrassingly quickly.

“Crystal Tokyo is… where we came from, but not where we come from,” began Ami carefully. “It’s sort of complicated. Is there somewhere else we might be able to explain?” A faint rumbling shook the ground. From the way it was building a crescendo, Mako gathered something very large and very fast was coming. Ami seemed to have reached the same conclusion. “Or – after we get rid of whatever's making that sound?”

Saitama smiled. “Oh, don’t worry. Genos?” The cyborg stood in rapt attention. “Take them back home while I take care of this?” He had already turned away, and so missed the sight of Genos bristling indignantly. Mako did not.

“Sensei –!”

“Genos, please?”

If Makoto didn’t know better, she might have said Genos blushed at that. Which would be impossible, naturally, since she distinctly remembered Ami explaining once that the cyborgs in that one sci-fi movie didn't actually have blood. Either way, he listened, and almost before she realized it he had taken off at a pace that was clearly used to someone tireless. She mumbled curses under her breath and bent at the knees. “Ami, come on.”

Ami stalled, cheeks pink. “But, Mako –”

“He’s gonna leave us behind if we don’t hurry. Come on!” That worked, and soon Mako was sprinting after the cyborg with Ami on her back, the smaller girl clinging to Mako nervously. With her legs locked around Mako’s waist and arms wrapped around her neck, there wasn’t really an easy way to adjust her at all, which made running a little more awkward than initially anticipated.

Mako couldn’t really say she minded.

All the same, the fighting followed by the run with a hundred and ten pounds of Ami on her back left her a little winded. Genos was standing silently by a door up the stairs of a deserted building with a faint smirk on his face. Mako struggled to hide the fact that she was out of breath, both from Ami (who would absolutely feel guilty if she knew and who Mako absolutely did not want to make feel guilty) and from Genos (who would absolutely be smug about it, she was sure, and who she absolutely did not want to give any satisfaction to whatsoever at this point).

Reaching the top of the stairs, she turned and set Ami down by the door, stretching and rolling her shoulders. “Hey,” she said as casually as she could manage, as if she hadn’t just sprinted across the wreckage of some strange neighborhood thousands of years in the future and wasn’t, in fact, talking to a cyborg who seemed to be in a relationship with a superhuman.

She told herself not to think about it too much, which was easy enough. This whole situation was starting to make her head hurt.

“Is this where you two live?” Ami asked, peering in the dusty window curiously.

“Yes! Saitama-sensei lived here alone until I found him and devoted myself to him.” Genos opened the door. “Then, he was kind enough to let me come to live with him immediately.”

“Uh…” They stepped inside. Mako squinted over her shoulder at him oddly. “That’s… kind of moving fast, isn’t it?”

He made a noise that she was pretty sure was the sound trains made when coming to a halt. “Of course not! Sensei’s judgment is perfect!”

A low boom shook the building. Mako caught Ami by the elbow to steady her before she could stumble more than a step. “Thank you.” Ami gave an embarrassed little smile. Makoto’s heart flung itself against her ribs in despair.

Abruptly the door swung open again – Mako didn’t remember any of them closing it – and Saitama came in, humming tunelessly to himself. “Oh,” he said, like he’d almost forgotten already that he’d invited them back, “hello.” He pulled off his red gloves and sat down. “Genos, do we have anything to eat?”

Genos straightened and hurried to search the small kitchen area of the apartment. “Sensei! We have only tonight’s dinner. I apologize, sensei! I will go and get you something to eat!”

He grinned. “Get enough for all of us, okay?”

The cyborg tensed but nodded vigorously. Ami bit her lip and looked up at Mako, head tipped to the side. “Mako… could you go with him?” Mako didn’t have time to vocalize her protests before Ami added hurriedly, “We don’t know what the rest of this city looks like, and it might help us get a better idea of where we are.” If Mako was still on the fence (she wasn’t), she wouldn’t have stood a chance when Ami hesitated, then slowly took out the Mercury computer and held it out in front of her like it was a newborn baby. “And… could you just… carry this around with you, carefully, and out of sight, and –”

Mako swallowed her pride and nodded. “Y-yeah, sure, of course. I mean – are you sure you want me to take it?”

Ami nodded slowly, expression deathly serious. “Don’t drop it.”


	2. (my best friend's hot)

It had taken some convincing, but when Mako left with Genos for the city, it was as herself and not as Sailor Jupiter. Ami had de-transformed too before she left, and even before the door shut behind Mako and the cyborg, Ami had shifted into learning mode and was halfway through her third question already.

The walk into the main portion of the city was uncomfortably silent. Mako tried to think of something to say, finally blurting out, “So… are you a human with machine parts, or a machine with human parts?”

Genos blinked and turned to look at her. “What?”

“You know, because… because you’re a cyborg. Which one did you start out as?”

“Are you a civilian that turns into a sailor or a sailor that turns into a civilian?” he responded, shifting his unnerving gold gaze elsewhere.

She sputtered. “Wha- I’m still me either way; what's it matter?”

“Yes.”

“…so are you saying –”             

“I am saying it is irrelevant to you.” He whipped out a piece of paper and studied it. “There is a sale on crabs. Saitama-sensei enjoys crabs.” Genos shifted his jaw, then glanced over at Mako. “Does your ‘Ami’ also enjoy crabs?”

Mako nearly tripped over a rock in the street. The burst of sharp, nervous laughter that escaped her sounded extremely fake, even to her own ears. “What – she’s not – we’re not – why would you – she’s not my Ami – I mean she’s Ami and she’s my friend but that doesn’t mean – I mean she’s not _my_ Ami, not like, like _mine_ or – or anything –” Genos did not look entirely convinced. “She likes sandwiches,” she finished finally. “Which I know because we’re friends, and I cook, so I know what my friends like to eat, so I can make stuff for them when they forget to eat. Which happens sometimes because sh- _they_ always work so hard.”

He was looking at her now with a faintly amused expression, and something else she wasn’t entirely sure of. Whatever it was, her hands were getting clammy now, and that was probably a sign it was time to try steering the conversation away from… this particular topic, especially since she had promised to be extremely careful with this small handheld piece of machinery that was currently proving very hard to hold onto with clammy hands. Struck suddenly by the intense fear that she might actually drop it and the even more intense fear that might actually make Ami cry, she stuck the computer into the inside pocket of her jacket and wiped her palms on her thighs.

“So,” she cleared her throat, “how long have you and Saitama been together?”

“I first came across sensei one year, three months, and fourteen days ago,” he said immediately. “I learned of his power and decided I would train under him. As I said, once he accepted that I would do whatever he asked of me, he allowed me to come to live with him because sensei is gracious and kind as well as powerful beyond any imagining. I made an attempt to discover the source of sensei’s power before approaching him, but was unsuccessful, and ultimately it has proved much more informative to study sensei’s strength and train under him directly. You see, when I was first studying Saitama-sensei, I thought for a period of time that perhaps his strength was acquired through the food he ate, and took a sample from his plate of French fries, but the results did not show anything out of the ordinary –”

Mako felt her eyebrows lifting. Some things maybe were better left unexplained. “Oh! So you mean you guys started dating pretty quick then? That’s… that’s cool. How did you guys know it was the right step to take? I mean it’s clearly worked, since you’ve been together so long, right?”

This time it was Genos who stopped dead and stuttered, eyes wide. “D- you think – I, date Saitama-sensei? What a ridiculous notion! Where would you get an idea as absurd as that? He is my sensei! I am his disciple! Sensei does not date anyone at all!” He crumpled the sale flyer in his fist suddenly. “He is like a… a lone wolf. Powerful and predatory, constantly seeking a challenge worthy of him.”

That… was not the impression Mako had gotten at all, but she kept her mouth shut.

“But just as wolves are meant to be with a pack, he is lonely!” Genos went on. “No one understands his greatness! So you see, he wishes for friendship. He is strong, but he is alone in his strength. It makes people afraid of him because they do not understand. He is often mistreated, which is a great injustice. I don’t understand why he tolerates such terrible people, but he must have his reasons. But I know he is alone and he does not relish it. As his disciple, I will do whatever is in my power to assist my sensei. He desires friendship, so I am his friend! I am the only friend of sensei. Sensei is not interested in having a romantic relationship with anyone, and in order to become strong like him, I must be the same! Therefore, there is no room for any such trivial things as ‘dating.’”

She looked at him for a moment. “Wow,” she said after a long while. “You really, really like him.”

“Did you not hear what I said?” They entered the store finally, but he didn’t seem to notice. “I am like sensei! Uninterested in attachments beyond friendship!”

“No, yeah, I heard,” Mako rolled her eyes. “I’m also hearing a lot of gushing over how great he is, and nobody uses the word ‘predatory’ about someone they’re not even a little bit interested in, so…”

Genos whipped away from her, suddenly very intent on studying a head of lettuce. “This is also on sale.”

“Hey, look, I’m sorry, I’m not trying to make you uncomfortable.”

“What types of sandwich ingredients should we look for?”

She opened her mouth to answer, then stopped, squinting at him. “…was that an attempt at changing the subject?”

“Yes. You said your sensei enjoys sandwiches.”

Mako laughed. “Whoa, no, Ami’s definitely not my sensei.”

He peered at her unbelievingly. “Do you not have much the same relationship that Saitama-sensei and I have? Are you not dedicated to learning and training under her?”

“Erm –” Mako gulped and shoved away the sudden mental image. “No. I mean, she teaches all of us stuff, because she’s better in school than the rest of us and she always wants to help make sure we’re doing our best, and yeah, we train together but – but like _all_ of us together, as a team, because that’s what we are. We’re a team. We’re friends. We’ve… we’ve always got each other’s backs. We fight together and we have fun together, but we don’t live together or anything.” She picked up an apple, turning it over absently in her hands to check for bruises. “I mean, not as a permanent thing. We have sleepovers sometimes, which are really fun, and if anybody’s parents go out of town and they get lonely I always invite them over, and yeah, it happens more often with Ami but that’s just because her mom is always on business conferences and stuff, since she’s a doctor. And really she can’t stay by herself, because she gets so caught up in whatever she’s doing that she forgets to eat unless someone reminds her, so it’s better if she stays with me instead of alone.”

And if she liked having Ami there to make her apartment less lonely, if she liked making her laugh, if she liked the way her nose always scrunched up and her eyebrows knit together when she was thinking especially hard about something, if she liked showing her how a recipe came together and seeing flour thumbprints on the lenses of Ami’s glasses – well she wasn’t hurting anything, as long as she didn’t ever have to face Ami finding out.

Genos’s attention was fixed on the tank of crabs he had finally located. He snatched one out in one clean, precise movement and examined it. “If my sensei desired a romantic attachment,” he said at last, voice quiet, “I would fulfill his every wish, as I do now.”

“That’s… intense.”

“It is truth.” He seemed satisfied with the crab and lifted his head, eyes fixed on something on the ceiling. “If it were to happen, of course, I would have to first become as strong as sensei. Then perhaps he would not feel so alone, if he were to have an equal, someone who understands his power and would be able to share in his feelings.” He moved towards the deli, and Mako followed. “I do… care very much for sensei. Before him, I was driven by anger and thought only of revenge. He has made me a better person, because that is who Saitama-sensei is. He is a good man. I wish to become like him not only in strength, but in heart.”

She looked down, reaching for some sliced turkey to add to the basket. “You… really love him,” she said, voice softer than it had been this whole time. Why did her chest hurt? This didn’t have anything to do with her. “Hey, that’s – that’s great. I hope he realizes how lucky he is, to have someone who’d do anything for him, who loves him that much. Yeah, I hope one day you’re just sitting together, doing nothing, and he says, ‘hey, I love you,’ so then you don’t have to pretend you don’t anymore.”

Genos set a package of cheap cheese in the basket. “I do not pretend.”

“What?” Mako looked up, confused. “But… does he know?”

“I don’t know. But I do not try to hide anything from my sensei. I care about him too much, you see.” He checked the contents of the basket and nodded, apparently satisfied. “We still need bread for your sandwiches. If I pretended I didn’t care for Saitama-sensei the way I do, it would feel as if I were lying to him, and I would not be able to live with myself then.”

“So he knows?”

Genos lifted his shoulders. “He might. I have never told him how I feel, but I don’t pretend not to care, because I am his friend.” Starting back towards the checkout line, he gave Mako a sidelong glance. “I have a sensei. You do not have a sensei, but you have a _sensei_.”

“…what?”

He set the basket on the counter and held out the bucket of crabs she hadn’t realized he was also holding. “I have the sale flyer. All of this should be on sale, as your advertisement said.”

Mako huffed and reached into the pocket of her jacket, checking on the Mercury computer. Not broken and still there, which was a relief. Genos took his time going through each of their six or so items individually and haggling about the price. “Any day now,” she muttered. He ignored her and began counting out exact change.

“Sensei does not have much money; he has taught me it is important not to spend more than is necessary,” he explained. He went silent again until they were leaving the store. Stopping abruptly in the middle of the sidewalk, he glanced over at Mako with narrowed eyes. “Sensei has taught me a great many things. One of the most important lessons is that it is vital that you are never your own enemy.”

She shifted her jaw, one hand moving back to the Mercury computer. The smooth surface was oddly comforting to the touch. Maybe that had something to do with why Ami always gripped it like she did during battle, white-knuckled and desperate, like it was an anchor.

“You should not fight with yourself. It diverts energy you should be using to fight the real enemies away from where it is most useful.”

“I don’t really do cryptic,” Mako said. “Just tell me what you’re trying to say. My head hurts enough as it is.”

He hesitated. Clearly trying to choose his words with precision, he said, “Do not… pretend. Do not pretend to yourself that you do not care because you are afraid. Leave a door open for things to happen in the future. Not a real door.” Genos started down the sidewalk, serious. “Do not leave a real door open. Insects will come into your home. They do not understand boundaries.”

She snorted, but it turned into laughter almost before she realized. “Oh man.” Mako shook her head with a smile. “Alright, I won’t leave real doors open, then.”

“But you will leave the metaphorical door open?” He sounded so earnest that her smile faded just as fast as it came. “Sensei would be better at this. Sensei always knows exactly what to say,” he admitted. “He is an artful speaker. He would have a better way to explain that closing off a part of yourself is poor form for a hero, you see. I am certain that he would even have a way to explain –” He was cut off with an _oof_ , seeming startled by Mako’s arms suddenly thrown around him.

“I think you said it just fine,” she said quietly.

He stiffened, silent for a long moment. Finally he cleared his throat uncertainly. “I cannot drop the food for Saitama-sensei and your Ami.” When she still didn’t move, Genos stared at the sky awkwardly. “I hope this does not start any rumors I will have to explain to sensei.”

Mako laughed and let go, punching his arm teasingly. “Thanks. For… talking.”

“If you wish to hear more about sensei, I can tell you –”

“No, no, that’s okay, I think the moment’s over now.” She grabbed a plastic bag from him and started down the sidewalk again, feeling lighter than before.

Genos hurried after her with insistence creeping into his voice. “But surely you want to know of the time he sacrificed his reputation and credibility to instead preserve that of other, lesser heroes –?”

“Isn’t he going to be starving by now?”

His eyes widened. “Oh! We must hurry home to sensei! I will have to explain that I did not mean to keep him waiting, but that there were setbacks!”

“What?” She sped up a little, trying to keep up with him. “What setbacks?”

“Obviously you set us back!”

“Hey! I did not!”

* * *

When Genos opened the door, the first thing Mako heard was Ami laughing. Not just the quiet polite half-giggle she used for strangers and Minako's punchlines she didn’t quite understand, but her real laugh, the one Makoto always associated with flour in her hair and cinnamon spilled on the floor and cake batter on the tip of her nose. Her heart dropped for a split second. Genos also seemed to tense, gold eyes narrowing again.

Saitama and Ami were sitting on the floor. The bald man looked bewildered, reaching up to scratch his head in confusion. “Ah… what did I say?”

Mako set the bag of groceries down. “What happened?”

As Ami’s laughter subsided, she looked up with a huge smile and lit up. “Oh! Mako! He – we were talking about the creature we – you were fighting and I was analyzing, and he said he was sorry for –” She took a breath but couldn’t stop grinning, eyes bright. “– for _stealing your thunder_.”

“…what?” Saitama and Genos looked at each other, seeming equally confused.

Mako bit back a laugh. “Does… he know why that’s funny?”

She caught her breath, shaking her head. “N-no, I’m sorry – Mako’s abilities are connected to lightning,” Ami explained, “so the juxtaposition of thunder and –”

“I think that was all you needed, you’re good.” Mako stretched, eyes widening when Ami hopped up and hurried over to her, holding out both hands. It took her a moment to realize this was not, in fact, an invitation for a hug, and actually Ami needed the Mercury computer back. “Oh, right, sorry,” she said hurriedly, taking it out of her jacket pocket and handing it over.

“Thank you for doing that for me,” Ami smiled. Swallowing nervously, Mako tried to return the smile as casually as possible, stomach twisting. “I hope it recorded enough that I can find a way to at least get in touch with Pluto in the time-space…”

Mako’s smile froze. “It… recorded…?”

“Yes, I had it set to record information about Z City as you made your way around it.” She looked up, worried. “Why? Did something happen?”

“What? No! No, no, nothing happened. I just, uh, had it in my pocket mostly, so I didn’t want to, um, mess anything up because of that.” She hooked her thumbs through her belt loops in what she hoped was a casual way, blowing a lock of hair out of her eyes with a sheepish grin.

Ami pressed her lips together, seemingly struggling to stop the corners of her mouth from staying turned up. She opened the small computer and nodded. “No, it looks like a successful run. Thank you.”

Saitama coughed awkwardly. “So… what’s for dinner?”

“Crabs,” Genos answered immediately, at the same time Mako said, “Sandwiches.”

They looked at each other. “Crab sandwiches?” Mako tried.

None of the other three looked particularly interested in the idea. “Maybe we can save something for tomorrow,” Ami suggested gently. “It’s dark already, and I don’t think I’ll be able to contact anyone tonight. We’ll need something for lunch, at least?”

Genos nodded and whipped out an apron from apparently nowhere. “I will prepare dinner.”

“Oh, no, I’ll do it.”

“You are a guest and I am an excellent chef.”

Mako huffed. “I’m also a good chef. Let me help at least!”

“I do not need help! I have cooked for sensei many times!”

Saitama leaned in, poking Genos in the shoulder. “Hey. If she wants to help, let her help. It’ll get done faster with two sets of hands, eh?”

She was really, really not surprised that this worked.

* * *

As Saitama’s apartment wasn’t exactly a luxury condo, there weren’t any guest beds; he was the one to suggest she and Ami take one and he and Genos would take the other, which Mako worried would make the cyborg combust, but he seemed to be internalizing his emotions fairly well. She’d been worried about it at first, expressing to Ami that she didn’t mind, she just was significantly larger than her and also the mattress wasn’t exactly king-sized. Ami had just laughed and reminded her that all five of them had slept in Usagi’s bed during one sleepover, and it had gone fine.

Mako remembered that, and wouldn’t have used ‘fine’ as a descriptor. She distinctly remembered waking up to Minako snoring and Usagi’s elbow in her windpipe, but she wasn’t going to argue. Not then, and especially not now, with Ami curled up and cuddled into her side like this, breathing slow and steady and one small hand holding onto Mako’s, slender fingers interlaced with her longer ones. She gingerly wrapped her other arm around her friend, trying not to wake her.

From across the room, Saitama snored, draped across Genos as if he was using him as some sort of very uncomfortable pillow. Genos didn’t seem to mind at all. It looked like his eyes were shut, but Mako was pretty sure he wasn’t sleeping, if the way his hands kept twitching nervously from their position on the other man’s back was any indication. She smiled to herself and closed her eyes, remembering how enthusiastically he’d talked about Saitama’s exploits on the way back.

_Leave a door open_.

Mako shifted to bury her nose in Ami’s hair, and she left a door open.


End file.
